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About Us
- What we do
  VIEW members exclusively support the children’s education charity, The Smith Family.
- Resolutions
  Every two years VIEW members vote on one or more issues of importance that will be the focus of advocacy and lobbying work for the coming years. These are called resolutions.
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  “Founding VIEW Clubs is the best thing I have ever done…I hope VIEW will become the greatest voice of women in Australia.” George Forbes, 1970
Get Involved
- Volunteer
  As a VIEW member there are many opportunities to volunteer your time and skills to directly help and support The Smith Family and disadvantaged Australian children and their families.
- Fundraise
  VIEW members raise over $1.1 million annually for The Smith Family and sponsor more than 1,650+ Learning for Life students.
- Raise awareness and advocate
  With more than 300 clubs around Australia involving some 14,000 women from all walks of life, the collective voice of VIEW is an important aspect of the organsation's work.
- Sponsor a disadvantaged student
  Learning for Life sponsorship provides disadvantaged students with financial assistance, emotional support and access to learning and educational programs.
- Partner with VIEW
  VIEW is proud to have a wide range of community partners that support our fundraising efforts and the work of The Smith Family. We would like to thank the following companies for their ongoing support.
There are more than 300 VIEW Clubs located in communities throughout Australia looking for new members – women from all backgrounds and walks of life, who want to make a difference.
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George Forbes Award 2024-25

26 September 2025

Governor General Patron Celebration

VIEW Clubs was honoured to be invited by the Governor General of Australia, Her Excellency, the Honourable Sam Mostyn to attend Admiralty House this morning to celebrate the work of some of the remarkable organisations she serves as Patron.

Today also marks the end of her first year in the role of Governor General. Her Excellency is the patron of 177 organisations (including VIEW and The Smith Family), with 30 of those organisations represented at today's event.

The event was a wonderful opportunity for both VIEW and The Smith Family representatives to meet and connect with other organisations committed to meaningful work important to Australia’s future. These included WWF, Juvenile Diabetes, Equality Australia, Children’s Medical Research Institute, Hello Sunday Morning...to name just a few.

VIEW National Manager, Maryanne Maher and VIEW Past National Vice President Susan Groenhout enjoyed admiring the artwork in Admiralty House, the amazing view from the gardens and the delightful morning tea on a beautiful sunny Sydney morning. It truly was an honour to be asked to attend.

In her welcome introduction, Her Excellency emphasised her core values for the nation of care, kindness and respect. She is a huge supporter of people engaging in community, especially volunteering, and is well aware of VIEW’s volunteering activities and longstanding partnership with The Smith Family,supporting the education of children experiencing disadvantage.

Maryanne and Susan were joined today by Lisa Allan, The Smith Family's Head of State and Territory Operations and Yasmin, a Learning For Life alumni student who graduated from university in 2018.

The George Forbes Award is named after the General Secretary of The Smith Family who established VIEW in 1960.

This award honours a member who has, during the past two years, contributed to the advancement of VIEW nationally. She has demonstrated VIEW and The Smith Family values, and her actions have been above and beyond what is expected of a member in her position.

And The winner for 2024-25 is

Jan Roberts from Mackay, Queensland

Jan joined VIEW 1988 as the inaugural president Mt Riverview in the Blue Mountains.

Her mother Norma had been a dedicated VIEW member and an exceptional role model having worked on various committee positions and senior officer roles. Jan saw firsthand how Norma loved VIEW activities and events and especially meeting other VIEW members who became lifelong friends.

Canberra eventually became Jan’s permanent home and upon retirement in 2010 joined several ACT Clubs holding numerous committee roles, Zone Councillor and National Councillor in Canberra and surrounds.

In 2018–19 Jan became National President.

In 2021, Jan moved to Mackay, in Central QLD which did not have a VIEW Club presence.

Realising just how much she missed VIEW in her life, Jan set about making connections with others in the Mackay community, including The Smith Family team. Mackay VIEW Club was formed in 2022 and now has over 50 members and sponsors 5 Students on the Learning for Life program.

The sign of a good leader is being able to step away and move on to the next challenge... which is exactly what Jan did... In June 2024... Jan set about establishing a VIEW Club in Rockhampton ... she contacted the Rockhampton Smith Family team for support and targeted communities in the surrounding areas… not an easy task from afar I might add... Mackay is 350 kilometres from Rockhampton. As the interest grew Jan worked with the local members and assisted them up to the formation of Capricornia VIEW in May this year!

Jan now leads the Far North Qld VIEW Development Team... we all need to stay tuned for the next instalment...

She has demonstrated great dedication and persistence and has contributed to the advancement of VIEW nationally!

I’m sure you will agree that Jan is an outstanding recipient.